Costas going in old direction -- show's focus back on sports

Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 13, 2005

Eventually, you have to stick with what you do best. That goes a long way in explaining why HBO Sports has changed the name and format of "On the Record With Bob Costas" to "Costas Now."

At 9 tonight, "Costas Now" makes its debut. "On the Record" had 12-week runs in each of the previous four years. "On the Record" began as an interview/feature vehicle for Costas that was supposed to be a sports program with a sprinkling of entertainment.

Sometime from the second year of "On the Record" to the fourth, the show morphed into an entertainment program with a sprinkling of sports. Costas unquestionably has the ability and credentials to host an entertainment program, but he is first and foremost a sports broadcaster.

During a conference call Tuesday, Costas said that though he believed the 2002 and '03 seasons of "On the Record" stayed basically true to the show's original aim, he acknowledged that "On the Record" went off its intended path last year.

"We thought that the focus of the show became fuzzy," Costas said. "People do turn to me primarily for sports."

So, "Costas Now" will be devoted almost exclusively to sports. Instead of one 12-week run each year, there will be one edition each month, always premiering at 9 p.m. on a Friday.

One piece in tonight's program is a feature on Tony Conigliaro, who became the youngest man to lead the American League in home runs when he hit 32 at age 20 in 1965. Conigliaro's career and life were altered forever after he was beaned by a pitch from the Angels' Jack Hamilton in 1967. Conigliaro, who died in 1990, had stints as a sportscaster at KRON (Channel 4) and KGO (Channel 7) after his playing career ended in 1975. His time in the Bay Area will be referenced in tonight's piece.

There's also an interview with comedian Billy Crystal, with the subject matter centered on sports. Costas envisions having other entertainment figures -- and some political figures -- on future editions of "Costas Now," with one major caveat:

"As long as we keep our eye on the ball," Costas said, "and that ball is sports."

TNT has the right touch: After watching much of TNT's NBA studio shows this week, from Monday night's "Inside the NBA" post-game show through Wednesday night's "Inside," two things become clear: 1. Barkley remains the first among equals with fellow analysts Magic Johnson and Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson. 2. The shows usually strike the appropriate balance of highlights, opinion and chuckles.

Barkley, of course, is afraid to speak his mind about as often as he puts together a smooth golf swing. In other words, never. Consider this comment after the Suns' Amare Stoudemire outscored the Mavericks' Erick Dampier 40-0 on Monday night:

"(Dampier) said he is the second-best center in the world, after Shaquille O'Neal. If you are going to say that, you've got to score, don't you? Think about it, Kenny: Me and him had the same number of points tonight."

Barkley's 16-year playing career gives his views an automatic credibility. What makes his delivery that much more enjoyable is he's also not afraid to let the audience know he might be wrong.

Case in point: Prior to Game 2 of the Sonics-Spurs series, the conversation dealt with how the defense of the Spurs' Bruce Bowen had affected the Sonics' Ray Allen during and after Game 1. When the word "defense" was mentioned, Barkley said, "I wouldn't know anything about that personally."

A notion has arisen that someone who is merely opinionated is a good broadcaster. Being opinionated in and of itself doesn't amount to much of anything. Having opinions without substance is simply buffoonery. Having opinions without humor is painfully too preachy.

Barkley's opinions come with both substance and humor. There are other laughs throughout the show. On Tuesday, Ernie Johnson's "Neat-O Stat of the Night" jokingly detailed how many times TNT had run promos for "Law and Order, " "The Closer" and "Into the West" during its playoff coverage. On Wednesday, the stat was a relevant one: The Pacers' Jeff Foster had only the fifth 20- rebound postseason game by a reserve in the past 30 years. The kicker was how TNT had gotten the information. After a full-screen graphic listing those five 20-rebound performances ran for about seven seconds, this note flashed at the bottom of the screen: "Source: Chuck stole from ESPN News."

Local programming: At 5 p.m. Saturday, KICU (Channel 36) has "Raiders Report Two," a team-produced half-hour show hosted by Greg Papa and Jim Plunkett. ... Following Saturday night's NBA playoff game between Miami and Washington, KGO (Channel 7) has a Larry Beil-hosted program, with Warriors assistant coach Terry Stotts as a guest. ... At 10 p.m. Sunday, KRON airs a one-hour program dedicated to Gary Radnich's 20 years at the station.

Redundancy watch: Another irking phrase for those of us in the desperately in-need-of-a-life club: "quick 1-2-3 inning." Unless each hitter has about a 15-pitch at-bat, don't you think it's safe to assume a 1-2-3 inning was quick?